September 20, 1506 (Marine Era)
All attention on the high seas seemed to be drawn to the New World of Archino Island.
The reason I'm asking is that today is the day the New World Marines announced the execution of Whitebeard Pirates members.
Judging from the trend, today is also the day when the Whitebeard Pirates and the New World Marines will start their war!
The outcome of this massive war may reshape the entire world's landscape for decades to come!
With the Marines's victory, the last Great Pirate of the Old Era will perish in the New World, and even... the so-called Great Pirate Era will truly come to an end from this moment on. A brand new era, ushered in by the Marines, will begin in the New World.
If the Marines were to be defeated, there would be no doubt that the New World would fall into the hands of pirates once again, the Whitebeard Pirates would enter a new golden age, and the Great Pirate Era would rise again.
Perhaps at that time, countless people will once again rush to the sea, hoisting pirate flags that represent destruction and chaos, adding another layer of pain to this ocean.
Even the prestige and authority of the World Government and the Marine Headquarters will be severely damaged, and ambitious figures from all walks of life will rise again in this chaotic era!
Therefore, early this morning, the entire world's attention was drawn to this impending war.
Families with the means have already connected to the broadcast signal announced by the Marines in the newspapers and are just waiting for the broadcast to begin.
Even those without the means to watch live streams flocked to the nearest public streaming platform to find a good spot to watch.
In the main conference room of the Marine Headquarters, Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, and a group of admirals who had no missions at the headquarters today were gathered.
The large screen in the conference room is already connected to the broadcast signal from Archino Island, but broadcasting hasn't started there yet, so the screen is still black.
At this moment, the expressions of the Marines officers present ranged from anticipation to anxiety, from solemn silence to excitement.
"Have you finalized the follow-up plans?" Zephyr plopped down in his chair and casually asked Sengoku next to him.
Sengoku nodded upon hearing this and said, "Of course, I have already deployed two large fleets at the New World Port in Mary Geoise and the G-1 Marine Base. If something unexpected happens on Ortolan's side, leading to a defeat in the war, we will intervene immediately..."
Garp, standing nearby, also spoke with a serious expression, "At that time Sengoku and I will personally lead the fleet to provide support and stabilize the situation."
The topic sounded rather heavy, but soon, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru smiled and said, "You don't need to worry so much. The Marines forces under Ortolan's command participating in this war are no less powerful than our headquarters. In terms of raw strength, we have an absolute advantage. Therefore, I think the possibility of victory this time is very high... If the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't been put on the spot, they might not have dared to come and fight."
Zephyr lit a cigar, exhaled a puff of smoke, and smiled, saying, "When have you ever seen that kid Ortolan suffer a loss? He's incredibly shrewd. The fact that he chose to wage war against Whitebeard means he's quite confident. So, let's consider making arrangements after the war is won."
Zephyr's words did lighten the atmosphere among the bigwigs, and Garp chuckled, saying, "That's true, that guy isn't one to suffer a loss..."
"If he's capable of winning the war, why would we need to get involved in cleaning up the mess? If this war is won, our headquarters has nothing to do with it. Let them handle the aftermath themselves..." Sengoku said with a smile.
Just as the Marines leaders were discussing these matters, the previously dark broadcast screen suddenly lit up.
The broadcast screens are clearly divided into zones. On Archino Island, multiple broadcast Den Den Den Mushi are suspended at various angles, allowing for comprehensive coverage of the entire battlefield without any blind spots.
The attention of Sengoku and the others was immediately drawn to the broadcast screen.
Looking at the entire Archino Island from the front, there are no prominent buildings. What can be seen behind the battlefield is a large-scale temporary Marines camp and some low-rise buildings.
Meanwhile, numerous gun emplacements and bunkers were built along the coastal defense line.
Experienced Marines commanders like those from the Sengoku could immediately see that the main purpose of these forts and bunkers, scattered throughout the area, was not to blockade the port or coastal defense system.
The vast majority of them were built with the attack direction facing inwards from the island!
Besides these, there are also a large number of standard Marines warships scattered around the island, but the number is not particularly exaggerated, only a few dozen. Even so, it still looks a bit crowded.
These warships cleared away a vital sea area that was the widest and reached the island's port!
"This is a trap..." Zephyr said softly, biting his cigar.
It's obvious that the fleet won't stop the Whitebeard Pirates from landing in the island's port, but once the Whitebeard Pirates' main fleet enters the relevant waters, they will quickly close in on their rear, forming a fleet encirclement that allows entry but not exit!
"Normally, the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't get involved in this, but now they have no choice," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru nodded in agreement.
Apart from the warships and artillery system, a huge and very flat and open plain area extends from the port into the island. The trees, vegetation, rocks and other debris in this area have all been cleared away.
This is the battlefield!
Nearly 100,000 New World Marines remained motionless, forming distinct battle formations in different areas on this battlefield.
The various Marine Admiral and Rear Admiral were all stationed in their respective military formations!
At the same time, if you look closely, you can see that next to the four Vice Admiral, Stolobey, Kaisa, Hoshigaki, and Stainless, there are four Shichibukai who have been summoned.
Indeed, these four Marine Admiral were slightly weaker, so when making the arrangements, Ortolan placed Doflamingo, Mihawk, Smoker, and Moria next to them as assistants.
As for Momonga, Issho, Tokikake, Gion, Tesoro, and others, these arrangements are unnecessary.
Sakazuki was also in this army formation, positioned right in the middle of the formation of the two Vice Admiral Gion and Tesoro.
Behind the military formation was a high platform.
There was a majestic chair, which was empty at the moment, but Fujitora Issho, wearing Justice Cloak and the Fujitora Issho of Vice Admiral general, stood tall beside the chair like a guard of the throne.
Although there was no one in the seat at the moment, everyone who noticed this place immediately understood that this was the location of Admiral Benn Ortolan, the Marines Commander-in-Chief of this war.
This high platform was the tallest building on the entire battlefield, while the second tallest building was the final, towering Execution Platform built in the last area of the battlefield.
Compared to the Execution Platform at Marine Headquarters during the Summit War region, this Execution Platform, while not as exaggeratedly tall, is larger in area.
After all, in the original story, only Ace was to be executed, but now, Momonosuke and all the members of the Kozuki Family are to be executed!
On the Execution Platform, the prisoner had already been brought up, flanked by Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Kin'emon, and other retainers.
The very center position is reserved for Momonosuke.
At this Kozuki Momonosuke was locked to the Execution Platform's mechanism and could not move. He was trembling all over, as if he was in extreme fear. His pants were wet with urine, and his face was covered in snot and drool. His expression was out of control, unnaturally distorted, and he was panting heavily, like a stinking fish stranded on the shore, struggling to survive.
Beside these prisoners stood executioners, each wielding a large guillotine.
That's right, Ortolan did not choose the piercing execution method, the same execution as Roger back then, but instead chose the more intimidating and brutal beheading execution!
Aside from the executioners and prisoners, there was also a Marine Admiral in charge of overseeing the execution on this Execution Platform, none other than Gion Tokikake!
The sea breeze swept across the military formation, and the Justice Cloak draped behind each Marines fluttered in the wind, subtly gathering their imposing aura together.
At this moment, there was a sense of... awe-inspiring power, Ten Thousand Banners Slash the Yama, gathering above the Marines formation!